Dragon Season: Rejection
by Akiko Natsuko
Summary: Alternate version of Dragon Season. 'Dragons and their children only have one mate in their life, and if the chosen mate rejects them then they will spend their entire life alone.' Disclaimer inside.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:

This is an AU version of my story Dragon Season, which was requested a while ago (unfortunately I have lost the message so I can't remember who asked for it – if it was you please pm me!). This first chapter is partly the same as the one for the main story. There are probably two or three more chapters to come for this one.

I don't own Fairy Tail I am only playing with it, I promise to put it back when I'm done.

FTFTFT

It was a perfectly normal day at Fairy Tail - perfectly normal that is, if you could ignore the deep growls rumbling forth from the two male dragon-slayers at random intervals.

"What exactly are they growling about?" Lucy whispered to Erza and Mirajane as the three girls stood at the bar watching the two dragon slayers warily; the stellar mage had arrived late and in the middle of a particularly vicious snarl from Gajeel which had sent her scurrying to Erza for protection in case he exploded.

"No idea," Mira said anxiously, eyes moving from Gajeel who was currently slouched in a corner his red eyes moving around the guild with an irritable expression on his face across to Natsu who was sat on the other side of the guildhall staring blankly at the table in front of him seemingly unaware of the frequent growls he was letting off. "They don't seem to be growling at each other though," she added thoughtfully, and indeed the two seemed to be completely disinterested in the other – which was both strange (given the growling) and a relief (for the sake of the guild hall).

The rest of the guild were slowly moving away from the two, sensing the potential for an explosion and being all too aware of the destruction that both mages were capable of. Even Happy who had been sat with Natsu had moved away to sit with Cana, eyeing his oblivious partner with concern and confusion.

"Wendy!" Erza called in relief as she spotted the youngest dragon slayer entering the hall with Carla, as they watched the girl froze for a second sniffing the air before glancing at the two other dragon slayers curiously. After a second she nodded thoughtfully before heading towards the mages gathered at the bar, the white exceed following with a stern expression on her face.

"Do you know what's wrong with them?" Lucy asked as soon as the girl reached them, gesturing at the two growling mages.

"They're in season," Wendy explained seeing the questioning expressions on the groups' faces. "Gajeel's about the right age, but I thought Natsu-san would take a bit longer but maybe its from having two of them in such close proximity," She said thoughtfully staring from one dragon slayer to the other with a slight frown

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked curiously, although silently wondering if this was something she needed to know more about… in season? That wasn't usually something you thought of in relation to people she thought, however, as the growls rang out again she decided that in the case it might be more fitting.

"Male dragons generally stay away from each other, especially in mating season as they can set one another off. And if they both want the same mate it can lead to fatal battles," Wendy said softly before looking around at the suddenly worried faces of their guild mates and realising what they were thinking. "That's not the case here though, look at how they're staying away from one another," she added hurriedly, and the others nodded in relief at that… the battle between the two during the Phantom Lord troubles had been explosive enough, the thought of an all-out, to-the-death battle between the two was simply put…terrifying.

"So why are they growling?" Erza asked anxiously, Natsu's growls seemed to have grown in volume and were nearly continuous at this point although his attention still seemed to be fixed on the table in front of him. Gajeel's growls were more spread out, but equal in intensity when they did ring out and it was making her nervous.

"To warn people away from their mates," Wendy replied innocently, seemingly unaware of the shocked expressions around her as people stared at the two dragon slayers.

"Mates?" They all jumped as Gray joined the conversation not having realised that the ice mage was there, but they all looked at Wendy expectantly causing the girl to sigh realising that she was the only one with the slightest clue as to what was going on. Silently she wished that Master Makarov was around, after all he seemed to know most things and would've been better suited to answering their questions; but the guild-master was currently away on a conference so she guessed that she was responsible for explaining what was happening.

"Dragon's mate for life and dragon slayers are just the same, once they fall for someone it's that person and no one else," Wendy said softly before gesturing at Gajeel and Natsu. "When Dragons or dragon slayers go into season they have about a week to claim their mate; if they don't or the one they've chosen rejects the bond then they will never bond with anyone." Her face grew sad at this, Grandine had been rejected by her chosen mate and her foster-mother had always seemed lonely, the pain of it never leaving her. "It's a lonely life it that happens," she added pensively.

"What about if they haven't found a…mate?" Lucy asked with a faint blush – seriously she thought, this was way too much information. She did find it odd though to think that Natsu – one of the most oblivious boys in the world was going through this; he always seemed so unaware of stuff like dating, romance etc.

"Then they will just be really irritable for the week, and they will go into season again every year until they find their mate," Wendy replied with a shrug, before smiling happily. "But from the way both of them are acting, they've both chosen someone." As if to emphasis her point another series of growls echoed through the hall, causing the other guild members to shoot slightly nervous looks at the mages and to increase their distance from the two volatile mages.

"Well Gajeel's choice is obvious enough," Erza said smiling at Levy who'd moved across to listen after being worried by Gajeel's strange behaviour, causing the little solid script mage to blush wildly and to wave her hands in nervous denial.

"What do you mean?" She asked nervously and Erza smirked before reaching out to push Gray closer to Levy, at once a loud growl rang out from the iron dragon slayer. Seeing the crimson eyes fixed on him Gray immediately backed away from Levy, shooting a glare at Erza as he did so and getting nothing but a small smirk for his efforts.

"He growls every time a guy gets close to you," she explained with a smug smile and the group sweat-dropped, only Erza would manage to notice that detail so quickly. "Besides you've been going out for a while haven't you?" She asked casually with a quick smirk as a brilliant blush spread across the other girl's face.

"H..Yes," Levy admitted not wanting to know how the requip mage had found out as they had been keeping it quiet. With a small smile and a very big blush she got to her feet, glancing at Wendy as she did. "Once in a lifetime chance?" She asked and the little dragon slayer nodded nervously a faint blush appearing. Squaring her shoulders Levy marched across to the growling iron dragon slayer and gave him a quick fierce kiss, halting his growls immediately as his eyes widened. Throwing a cheeky smile at the stunned group the solid script mage held out her hand, pulling Gajeel up when he nervously took it and leading him out of the guild hall.

"Well that's one way of doing it," Lucy murmured shocked by the usually shy bookworm's boldness, but eager for the gossip she knew she'd get at a later date; she had to bite back a grin though as Jet and Droy were gaping after their team member in shock before darkly murmuring about what they would do to the Iron dragon slayer if he hurt 'their' Levy. She hoped for their sake that they would never feel the need to try and carry out the threats they were making, Gajeel would make mincemeat out of them.

"But what about Natsu?" Erza asked turning her attention to the pink haired boy, whom was seemingly wrapped up in his own world although an almost continuous stream of growls was escaping him. "He's not seeing anyone is he?" She looked at Lucy as she said this, eyes curious.

"Eh? Why are you looking at me?" The stellar mage demanded seeing the glance and blushing wildly as she noticed that the others were looking at her as well. "We're just friends. What about Lisanna?" She asked thoughtfully glancing at Mirajane who shook her head with a small smile.

"She's not here," Mira pointed out. "She went off on a quest with Elfman the other day," she added in explanation and the others sighed – Lucy and Lisanna were top of their list of people whom Natsu seemed even vaguely interested in. Vaguely being the world – to be honest before this they had all presumed him to be completely unaware of girls, or at least unaware of them in that sense.

"Wendy?" Cana suggested looking up from her tankard for a moment, and grinning when the young dragon slayer squeaked shaking her head violently; but then choking when someone suggested that it was her.

As the girls whispered various names, trying to work out who Natsu's growls were aimed at they all failed to note Gray slipping out of the guild hall with a disgruntled expression on his face; all except Mira who noted his departure and the sudden cessation of growls that came with it. She smiled slightly to herself as she glanced across at Natsu, noting the way his head had finally come up, his eyes focusing briefly on the exit before he slumped back in his seat. Although part of her wanted to squeal with delight she figured that this probably wasn't the best time to interfere, so with a secretive grin she turned back to the discussion – shaking her head at the obliviousness of the boys' best friends.

FT

Natsu could hear the debate ranging around him, and it irritated him that no one seemed to have a clue about how he was really feeling…and who he was feeling it for. It didn't help that he was aware that Gajeel had acknowledged his chosen, and she had accepted – it only helped to highlight that his situation was completely hopeless. Irate he got to his feet and headed out of the guild, unwilling to put up with other people whilst he felt like this and reluctant to risk losing his friendship with his mate. He would just hide out at home until the week was out, then they could go back to how it was…and how it would always be.

FTFT

The Next Day:

"Natsu? Natsu let us in!" Erza called banging loudly on Natsu's doors, frowning in concern at the lack of response. Glancing across at Lucy she went to reach for her sword, determined to break down the door if she needed to; they had been slightly alarmed when he had disappeared from the guild but they had decided to give him the day to hopefully cheer up…and stop growling. Now, however, that concern was growing as they stood ignored at his front door.

"Go away!" The sudden cry startled her and she froze, glancing incredously at Lucy who looked equally stunned; Natsu never denied Erza…never! Even Gray had rebelled more than the dragon slayer in front of the red-haired girl's wrath.

"Natsu…" Lucy started and there was snarl from inside the house which caused her to back away slightly fearfully, eyes growing wide as she stared at the door. This wasn't the Natsu she knew.

"I said go away," his voice was more of a growl now and they were stunned by the raw emotion in his voice, looking at each other uneasily. "I don't want to see anyone," he added a moment later and then there was silence, followed by the sound of a door slamming somewhere inside as he clearly moved away from them deeper into the house.

"What are we going to do?" Happy asked unhappily as he hovered above the two girls, his eyes fixed on the door barring him from Natsu. The fact that Natsu was even ignoring the little exceed, being of even greater concern than him ignoring his human friends.

"I think we should tell the master," Erza said thoughtfully as she released her hold on her sword, clearly bursting in on him at the moment wasn't going to help matters. "He might know how to help Natsu," she added hopefully; after all Markarov had been the first to know about and believe in Natsu's dragon-slayer magic, so maybe he would have some extra insight to this than Wendy. After all Wendy was a) a girl b) barely in her teens and 3) was relying on information learnt years ago from a now vanished dragon. They would have asked Gajeel but he and Levy had yet to reappear, and they had the sense to not try and interrupt them at the moment.

"I'm going to stay here in case he comes out," Happy said as he settled himself down on the door step, the picture of feline concern. Nodding Erza shot him a comforting smile, she knew how concerned the little exceed was – it was practically unheard of for Natsu to shut the cat out, even their brief spats never lasted more than a couple of hours.

"I wonder why Natsu won't let on who his mate is?" Lucy asked as the two girls headed away from the house, waving at the lonely figure on the doorstep.

"No idea," Erza shook her head with a sigh. "But Natsu's always been shy about stuff like this, so maybe it's just that?"

"Shy?" Lucy asked disbelievingly thinking of all the times that Natsu had climbed into her bed, or had walked in on her and seen stuff he most definitely shouldn't have seen. He had always seemed oblivious and she couldn't recall him blushing or being awkward about it – even Gray showed more awareness than the dragon slayer and he was the idiot that went around seemingly unaware of Juvia's complete infatuation with him.

"He doesn't like to talk about emotions or relationships and stuff," Erza smiled glancing at the other girl. "Most of the time he is oblivious." Lucy sweat-dropped at that – how had Erza known what she was thinking? – then again it was Natsu they were talking about and they both had plenty experience of his denseness. "But I think mainly its because he's scared of admitting how he feels in case the other person leaves; he has no idea what happened to his real parents, and Igneel left him – it's a fear that's never really left him despite how close he is to Fairy Tail."Lucy nodded thoughtfully, a sad look on her face as she considered what her best friend had gone through in the past – but still she couldn't really understand not wanting to pursue the person you wanted to be; maybe she was just overly romantic or maybe it was her inner novelist but she would never ignore an event like this.

FTFTFT

Four Days Later:

Natsu groaned as he dragged himself towards the kitchen in search of something that would cool him down. He had been feeling increasingly ill over the last few days, but today was the worst; he felt like he was burning up… a strange experience as fire never normally felt hot to him. He knew it was because he hadn't been near his mate all week, but he couldn't risk it – he'd rather endure this than risk losing the other mage's friendship. Losing Igneel had hurt, but he had managed to move on – but if he lost the other, he knew that he wouldn't be able to move on.

Shakily he staggered towards the sink, however, the room was starting to spin round him in crazy circles and he ground to a halt as he tried to get his bearings. Slowly the world began to right itself and after several minutes he felt safe to move again, however, as soon as he moved his legs gave way beneath him and he slumped to the floor with a cry. The floor felt cool against his burning skin and he lacked the strength or will to get up again, so wearily he let his eyes flutter shut.

FTFT

The guild was practically dead when Gray slipped inside, and he frowned at the unusual atmosphere and lack of people. Glancing around he spotted Gajeel and Levy tucked away in a far corner talking quietly, and he groaned as he recalled the debates from the previous days over whom his flame-brained rival was romantically interested in. Hastily he made his way to the request board, determined not to be dragged into yet another pointless discussion on the subject.

Mira glanced across at where Gray was stood in front of the job board, frowning slightly at the sight of him searching for a job. Had his disquiet over the discussions about Natsu's mate been because he was annoyed, rather than reciprocated feelings? Remembering Wendy's words she prayed that it wasn't the case, she didn't want Natsu to suffer.

"Have you tried visiting Natsu?" She asked as she moved across to join him, the ice mage starting slightly before turning to glance at her in bemusement. His expression did little to settle her worry over whether he could or would return Natsu's feelings, but she knew that she had to press on.

"Why would I?" He asked with honest confusion, blinking as a look of disquiet flickered across her face and noting how Gajeel had straightened slightly and was now watching them intently.

"He's you're nakama isn't he?" Mira asked cheerfully, not about to push too far to fast in case he ran off before actually speaking with the dragon slayer. "Lucy and Erza have gone to see the master, so he has no one to turn to at the moment." A flicker of guilt passed across the ice mage's face at the gentle question, before he carefully blanked his expression again but the knowing expression on her face told him that he'd been caught out.

"Fine I'll go and see him," he muttered running a hand roughly through his hair, wondering why it was just as difficult to hold out against Mira as it was against Erza. He was rewarded with a dazzling smile from the take-over mage, before she gently ushered him towards the door and he sighed as he realised that she wanted him to go right away.

FT

Gray grumbled softly to himself as he made his way out of town and towards Natsu's house, not for the first time wondering why the sociable fire mage insisted in living out of town. Reluctance slowed his steps as the house finally came into sight, and eventually he drifted to a halt, staring at it with a wide-eyed expression. He could count the number of times he had gone to Natsu's house on his own with the fingers of one hand, and he'd never come here of his own accord.

He'd just about talked himself into turning around and slipping away on a job before Mira could catch him, when there was sudden shout and a blue blur shot towards him.

"GRAY!" He blinked in surprise at the loud shout, finally realising that it was Happy soaring towards him, a combination of worry and relief written across his expressive face.

"Happy what are you doing out here?" The ice mage asked, he'd thought that the exceed would've been cooped up inside with Natsu.

"Natsu won't let me in," the Exceed said sadly as he hovered in front of Gray. "I've been keeping an eye on the house," he added twisting his head to stare back towards the house.

"Have you seen him at all?" Gray asked anxiously, the idea that the dragon-slayer would keep even Happy away from him finally making him realise how serious the situation was.

"Not since the day he left the guild, he just growls at me to go away," Happy said, his wings drooping as he gazed sadly at the house.

"It's okay Happy," Gray said reassuringly to the Exceed (only wishing that he believed that) before heading for the door. Pounding heavily on it he waited for a response, head craned as he listened for any response… after a few minutes of silence he repeated the action and once again waited. "Fine, if you want to play it that way," he muttered in irritation reaching out and placing his hands on the door handle/lock and summoning his magic, smirking as ice spread over the wood. Glancing up at the watching cat he stepped back slightly and lashed out to kick the frozen part of the door, his smirk growing as the ice and wood shattered under the force.

"Gray…" Happy protested weakly but in truth he was happy that they would be able to get inside and check on his friend (truthfully he had expected Erza to break down the door days before!).

"Come on," the ice mage ordered as he moved forward, he still wasn't sure that he was the best person to be confronting the dragon-slayer but he had to admit that even he was a bit concerned by this point.

FT

"Flame-brain?" Gray called as he stepped cautiously into the house followed by an uncharacteristically quiet Happy, absently he noted how tidy the place was – remembering his surprise the first time he had been here. The house remained silent and he exchanged a brief worried look with the Exceed before moving forwards. The living room was empty, however his eyes widened as they fell on a pair of feet protruding from the doorway leading to the kitchen darting forwards he found himself staring down at Natsu's crumpled form.

"Natsu," slight concern blossomed into full-blown fear as he took in the pitiful state of the collapsed dragon slayer. Natsu was pale, a light sheen of sweat covering his face and he seemed to be panting for breath, an expression of pain etched across his face. The ice mage moved swiftly to his friend's side, dropping down to feel the other mage's forehead and recoiling slightly at the heat coming from the other. Natsu always felt unbelievably hot to the ice mage, but this was overwhelmingly hot and Gray felt the stirrings of fear.

"Natsu," he called gently as he shook the other mage watching hopefully for a response of some sort, when there was no sign of any response he sat back on his heels as he tried to think of what to do, wishing yet again that Mira had sent someone other than him.

"Go get Wendy," he ordered after a moment, looking up at the frightened exceed who nodded before springing into the air and heading back out the door. Cautiously Gray scooped up the unconscious dragon slayer and carefully carried him through to the bedroom, frowning at the lack of reaction that the movement brought as he covered Natsu with the blanket. Sighing he sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to place his hand on the fevered brow of the other mage, ice forming around his fingers as he tried to bring the fever down.

"Gray," the weak murmur startled him, but a quick glance showed that Natsu was still out of it, although the fire mage unconsciously lent into the coolness. As he fought the fever it occurred to Gray that he had never seen the dragon slayer ill before – motion sickness didn't count as it was only temporary (and happened all the time!) -, injured certainly but never ill and he found it somewhat disturbing to discover that the other boy could be laid low by illness.

FT

"Gray-san? Natsu-san?" Wendy called as she entered the house followed by Happy and Carla, her nose twitching slightly as she tried to locate the two boys in the unfamiliar house.

"Here Wendy," Gray called, swiftly moving his hand away from the dragon-slayer and ignoring the small whimper that the movement caused. She followed his voice to the room, her eyes widening with concern as she took in Natsu's state. "He's burning up and he hasn't woken up since I got here," he explained urgently looking at her hopefully, surely she would be able to help the idiot and then he wouldn't feel so bad about getting out of here – he really wasn't cut out for being a nursemaid, especially not to his friend/rival.

"Natsu-san," Wendy called softly not really expecting a response as she moved to stand beside them, however, after a long moment a low growl escaped the unconscious dragon slayer. Wendy and Gray exchanged startled looks and Gray glanced at her wondering if the earlier guesses that she might be his mate were right.

"Can you help him?" Gray asked completely oblivious to the surprised looks she was sending the pair of them, or the sudden realisation that spread across her face.

"I don't think so," Wendy said nervously waving a cautious, glowing hand over Natsu and blushing wildly when he growled again. "I think it's a reaction to not letting himself go near his mate. Grandine said that just being near the mate would help stabilize them during the mating season, even if nothing came from it," she explained and Gray sighed, running a hand across his face as he stared down at Natsu curiously– the flame brain was making himself ill? Why? The ice mage wondered what could be so bad that it would prevent the other boy from seeking out his mate.

"So we need to work out who it is?" He asked with a sigh, this was not going the way he wanted and although he knew that Natsu was unwell, he couldn't help but wish he'd gone with his original plan and just gone on a job. Now it looked like he was going to be roped into the guessing game of finding out just who Natsu had chosen as his mate.

"Um…" She hesitated and he turned to look at her questionly and she blushed even more; this was definitely not a situation she had envisioned finding herself in and she wished that Erza or Lucy were here as they would probably have caught on by now and would know how to explain it to the ice mage.

"What?" Gray demanded, anxiety and stress making his voice harsh as he turned to stare at her – ignoring the annoyed huff from Carla at his tone of voice.

"I think… I think it might be you Gray-san," she blurted out finally turning bright red and he gaped at her, ignoring the gasps from the two exceeds standing in the doorway as he stared wide-eyed at her for a moment.

"Me?" Gray asked disbelievingly glancing at Natsu – there was no way the flame-brain would like him in that way? Was there? He couldn't see it, and couldn't help but wonder what had put such a though in the youngest dragon-slayer's head. "There's no way, we're team-mates and rivals nothing more," he said with absolute certainty, and she shook her head at his words.

"It is you Gray-san, that's probably why he's stayed away and made no attempt to claim you," She said, and he swallowed hard as he saw the sadness in her eyes before it was replaced by an almost expectant look. "The only one who can help him at this point is you."

"Me? What can I do?" He demanded really not liking where this conversation was going, or the expectations that he had a feeling she was busy placing on him. Suddenly he scowled as it dawned on him just why Mira had sent him here, although he couldn't for the life of him work out how she'd known.

"It's up to you to choose what happens," Wendy replied softly. "Natsu's in no condition to make that choice, and he wouldn't anyway. The choice is always in the hand of the one that has been chosen," she added with a gentle smile at the wide-eyed expression on the ice-mage's face. Gently patting his arm and grinning at the growl it provoked from the unconscious dragon slayer she moved towards the door and gently shooed the two exceeds out ahead of her, leaving the confused ice mage alone with the dragon slayer.

FT

With a muffled groan the ice mage sank onto the edge of the bed, carefully making sure that he wasn't touching the other teen, before burying his head in his hands. This was not what he wanted, and he knew without doubt that he couldn't be what Natsu needed or wanted. There was no way he was ready for commitment of this type, and he just couldn't see Natsu in that way – the dragon-slayer was a good friend and an annoying rival and that was all.

"Gray," the whisper startled him out of his thoughts and he jumped slightly; turning he realised that Natsu's eyes were slightly open although barely more than slits. Relief rose in him at this sign of awareness, perhaps Wendy had been overly worried about his condition.

"Hey Natsu, how are you feeling?" He knew that it was an inane question, but there was no way he was going to broach the main issue. For a long moment Natsu stared at him and he had to fight the urge to shy away from the searching gaze.

"I'm fine, you can go if you want," Natsu replied at last in a deadened tone before he slowly turned over, presenting his back to the ice-mage. Gray sighed as he realised that Natsu knew or at least guessed what his response was going to be, and he knew that he had to tackle the issue if the other wasn't.

"It's me isn't it?" He asked solemnly and the violent flinch that went through the dragon slayer was confirmation that his guess had hit the mark. With a sigh the ice mage sat back, his hands clenching into fists as he considered this new development.

"I'm sorry," Natsu whispered after the silence had dragged on for several minutes, although he made no move to turn around – his gaze remaining fixed on the far wall. Gray winced at his friend/rival's voice, at the mixed sound of regret, yearning and fear and his eyes narrowed as he noted the tremors now wracking the fire mage's body.

"I…" Gray trailed off not sure what to say, this was a situation that he could never have imagined even in his wildest speculations over who Natsu's mate was. Wearily he ran a hand over his face as he tried to work out what he could do…or say to make things easier on the dragon slayer.

"It's alright," Natsu's murmur made him glance up and he was startled to find that the dragon slayer had rolled over to look at him, although the pain and longing in the expressive olive eyes cut him to the core. "I knew you wouldn't feel the same," he continued with resignation in his voice, and Gray felt as though he had been punched in the gut as he saw the moisture forming in his rival's eyes.

"Natsu," he said in alarm, there was no way he was ready to deal with the fire mage crying. Briefly a vague memory of a young Natsu crying in the forest because of something he'd said flashed back through his mind, and he closed his eyes. He had sworn back then that he would never make his nakama cry again, and yet here he was doing just that – and he didn't know what to do.

"You should go," Natsu said dully even as the tears began to fall, first in a trickle but then increasing in intensity as the ice mage stumbled to his feet. Gray hesitated by the bed, knowing that he couldn't do anything to help unless he accepted and returned Natsu's feelings (part of him wished that he could, if only to help his nakama) but equally reluctant to just turn his back.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered at last and felt his own tears forming as Natsu flinched violently at his words. Unsteadily he headed for the door, pausing in the doorway to look back at the dragon slayer, sorrow flooding him as Natsu rolled over to face away from him.

Soundless apologies flew through his mind as he silently moved away from the room, heading out of the house with his head bowed. Outside he nearly glanced back, but taking a deep breath he forced himself to keep going – heading back in the direction of the guild. He would grab a job and head out at once, knowing that the others wouldn't be happy with his rejection of Natsu's choice – and that Natsu was going to need some space from him.

FTFT

Despite the tears already flowing down his cheeks, the dragon-slayer managed to largely hold himself together until he heard the door close quietly behind the ice mage. The soft thud of wood against wood, rang in his ears like a death knell and the last thread of control he had snapped – an agonised noise, neither human nor animal escaping as he curled into a ball. Violent sobs shaking his entire body as a deep void opened in his chest, as the faint hope he'd harboured that maybe, just maybe Gray would accept him withered and died in the face of the other teen's rejection.

FTFT

Gray could feel the eyes that bore into him as he entered the guild, and a quick glance showed that Wendy and Mira were watching him with hopeful expressions whilst Gajeel was glaring at him with fury in his eyes. Silently he shifted his gaze back to the two girls and shook his head, flinching as their expressions fell and tears formed in the little dragon slayer's eyes, from the side he heard an angry growl and he forced himself not to flinch.

Gritting his teeth and trying his best to ignore them he made his way to the job board, grabbing the first request he spotted that would let him get away for a few weeks. Without a word he made his way over to the bar and handed the sheet to Mira, who accepted it with a trembling hand.

"Gray…"

"Please don't," he pleaded as the sight of a weeping Natsu instantly flashed through his mind, and reluctantly he glanced up to meet her gaze. Her eyes widened at whatever she saw in his face before silently she nodded, the job request crumpling as her hands clenched automatically.

"Be careful," she said sadly and he nodded before heading for the door, desperate to get away from the sad and accusing eyes watching his every move. And praying that this time away would let him get his head together, and hopefully give Natsu some time to recover.

FT

"Natsu-san," Wendy whispered sadly as they watched the ice mage all but run from the guild. Her eyes were full of tears as she turned to look across at Gajeel, watching how the dragon slayer wrapped his arm possessively around Levy. Glancing up he met her gaze, and she could see the anger and the sadness in his eyes – and the desperate relief that Levy hadn't rejected him. Neither could imagine the pain that their fellow dragon slayer must be going through, and Wendy dreaded seeing the same melancholy that had haunted her mother in Natsu.

"Wendy is there anything we can do to help Natsu?" Mira asked softly and Wendy turned back to look at the take-over mage, the older girl's eyes were full of guilt and sorrow and the dragon slayer quickly reached out to place a comforting hand on Mira's arm.

"You're not to blame for this," she said her voice wavering slightly. "You couldn't have known that this was going to be Gray's decision."

"But I sent him to see Natsu because I guessed that he was Natsu's mate."

"And if he hadn't gone the end result would have been the same," Gajeel spoke up and the two girls started, realising that he and Levy had come across to join them at the bar. The solid-script mage looking just as upset as the other girl's as she clung with something nearing desperation to Gajeel's arm, not sure if she was trying to reassure him or herself. "As for the Salamander, we just have to leave him be until the end of the week. Between Gray's rejection and the effects of the mating season, he won't be able to cope with visitors."

"And after?" Levy asked softly and he glanced down at her, crimson eyes dulling slightly before he glanced back up at Wendy.

"He won't be the same," Wendy said softly and this time her tears escaped, trickling down pale cheeks as Mira reached out to offer the girl comfort.

FTFT


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, thank you for the amazing reception to this alternate version of DS. Your reviews, favourites and follows always make me smile.

Disclaimer: As always Fairy Tail and it's amazing, lovable characters don't belong to me I'm just playing with them.

FTFT

Three days later:

Natsu sighed with relief as he felt the intense heat and mating urges of his season disappear, his exhausted body sinking limply into the bed as the strain drained out of it. Unfortunately the loss of the physical symptoms left him with no choice but to confront what had happened, which he'd been frantically trying to push aside since the moment that Gray had practically fled from his house. At once he felt himself tearing up again, and hastily buried his face in his pillow to drown out the noises as sobs began to rock his body.

He had known all along that Gray wouldn't return his feelings, but he had at least hoped to keep their friendship intact. It was why he'd chosen to hide away rather than running the risk of giving in to temptation. But then Gray had actually sought him out, and for one shining moment he'd actually allowed himself to hope that maybe just maybe the ice mage would be able to feel the same. As soon as Gray had spoken though he'd heard the fear and regret in the other's voice and that spike of hope had become a cold ball of dread in his stomach and now everything was ruined.

Sniffling he eventually pulled his head away from his pillow, his tears beginning to dry as an empty hollow feeling took root in his chest. He could still feel the pull towards Gray, the need to protect; but his draconic part was mocking that pull telling him that he was too weak to be able to protect the other teen. Why else would he have been rejected? He wasn't good enough to protect Gray, to give the ice mage what he needed or wanted.

His gaze drifted across to where his scarf sat folded up on the bedside table, and his mind drifted back to when Igneel had first told him about how dragons and dragon-slayers went into season. It was nearly a year after Igneel had found him and taken him under his wing, when with all the innocence of a child he'd asked whether dragons could get married like humans could.

_FT_

"_Igneel," he asked his nose scrunched up with thought as he gazed up at the dragon from his current nest in Igneel's curled up tail._

"_Hmm?" The dragon hummed curiously, glancing down at the sleepy child with a fond expression on his face as he watched Natsu struggling to fight off the pull of sleep._

"_Do dragons get married too? I 'member my parents were married so does Igneel have a wife?" Natsu asked, filled with innocent curiosity. He'd never encountered another dragon, but he just knew that there had to be female dragons as well and his daddy deserved to have a wife. The large dragon blinked down at his young charge, startled by the sudden question and wondering just how far he should take the conversation that would ensue if he answered it. After all Natsu was still very young to know about such things, however, a sense of unease made him hesitate and realise that at the very least he needed to give the child the basics._

"_Dragons don't get married in the same way that humans do," he said at last and Natsu looked up at him curiously, all traces of sleep disappearing as he realised that Igneel was going to give him a proper answer to his question. "Every dragon, and Natsu this applies to dragon-slayers like you as well," he added, noting how Natsu scowled at the 'dragon-slayer' part – his adopted son didn't like the idea that his powers could be used to hurt Igneel or any other dragon for that matter. "Has a mate, someone out that we are drawn to above all others."_

"_So we don't get to choose?" Natsu asked, wrinkling his nose at that thought and Igneel huffed a small laugh at the reaction. _

"_No we don't." he agreed softly bringing his head down to be on level with the child. "But believe me Natsu that is not a bad thing, the person that is our mate will be the only person that we will ever truly feel drawn to. They complete us in a way that no one else could."_

"_Do you have a mate?" Natsu asked tilting his head to look up at the dragon, hearing the warmth and fondness in his father's voice._

"_Not yet, unfortunately I have yet to find my mate," Igneel said softly and for a moment there was sadness in his voice, but then it faded as he glanced that his tiny child – having Natsu in his life made up for the loneliness he'd felt in his unmated state. He felt a soft touch on his tail, and glancing down he found Natsu was stoking his tail clearly in an attempt to comfort him and he bared his teeth in a draconic smile. "Natsu there will come a time when you are older when you will find your own mate, but when you do you will need to prove to them that you are the best one for them."_

_Natsu tilted his head at that, not particularly liking the idea of having a mate of his own, it sounded like more trouble than it was worth, but he couldn't completely suppress his curiosity._

"_Why? I thought you said that mates were meant for each other?" He asked in confusion and Igneel sighed, he knew that this was too much for someone Natsu's age and that he would have to tell the boy more as he got older._

"_They are, but sometimes the mate doesn't return those feelings and if that happens," Igneel trailed off sadly, his thoughts turning to Grandine, remembering her sorrow and loneliness when she'd been rejected by her chosen._

"_What happens?" Natsu asked, noting the sorrow on his father's face and frowning at the unusual expression. For a second the dragon seemed to hesitate and then his expression cleared and he gently nuzzled the boy._

"_Nothing that you need to worry about now. I am certain that when the time comes your chosen will return your feelings," Igneel said, deciding that he wasn't going to burden a child with the consequences of a failed mating, besides he was certain that his child would not fail. Natsu smiled at the certainty in his father's voice and nodded confidently before snuggling back into the curled tail, finally ready to doze off._

_FT_

Natsu shook himself out of the memory with a violent shudder, the certainty in Igneel's voice only driving home his failure. It had been several years later Igneel had eventually explained the consequences of what would happen if Natsu was turned down by his chosen mate, but even then the dragon had spoken of his mating with hope and confidence. He'd always hoped that he would succeed and that when he managed to find his father he'd be able to introduce his mate to Igneel, but like everything that future had disappeared.

"I'm so sorry Igneel," he whispered to the empty room, wondering if wherever the dragon was he was able to see what was happening. He desperately hoped not, not able to bear the thought of his father seeing what a failure he'd turned out to be despite being told what the consequences would be.

Shuddering he felt a fresh river of tears running down his cheeks. Abruptly he rolled over so that he was facing away from the scarf unable to bear the sight of it, felling the vast emptiness that had opened in his chest when Gray rejected him trying to swallow him whole. For a brief moment his old stubbornness welled up and he tried to pull back from the approaching void, but then his mind flashed back to Gray's face as he fled the other night and his defiance died. Closing his eyes he let himself be dragged into the void, seeking the relief that the emptiness would give him, even if it was short-lived.

FTFT

It had taken all of Gajeel and Wendy's efforts to prevent their worried nakama seeking out their fellow dragon-slayer, especially when Lucy and Erza had arrived with a grim Makarov in tow. Fortunately the old man had recognised that when it came to draconic issues they were more knowledgeable than he was, and had sternly ordered his other children to listen to them. However, it had alleviated the worried tension in the guild – especially as the other dragon-slayers were walking around with grim expressions (even Gajeel's joy at his own successful season had been lost in the face of knowing that the Salamander was going through).

Erza had been furious when she learned that Gray had taken off – she was willing to accept that the relationship wasn't something that he wanted, but to run away rather than facing Natsu just riled her. It had taken Mira and Lucy many hours to convince the warrior girl not to go after Gray, and whilst she had finally agreed, she still tended to adopt a murderous expression whenever the ice mage's name was mentioned.

Lucy on the other hand had spent the rest of her time trying to comfort both Mira and Wendy. The former still blaming herself for sending Gray to see Natsu, despite the fact that both dragon-slayers had already said that the ending would have been the same regardless if Gray hadn't gone. Wendy was just as inconsolable, of all of them she was the only one that truly knew how being rejected would affect a dragon or dragon-slayer – and that knowledge was haunting her.

FT

As the days went on the guild grew more and more restless, worry constantly filling the air of the oddly quiet guild hall. Every member realising just how much the hot-headed teen contributed to even just the everyday atmosphere of Fairy Tail, and increasing their dread at the changes that the other dragon-slayers were warning them they would see.

Lucy and Erza had taken to heading out on short jobs, never staying away more than a day or two, but unable to hang around with the unknown hanging over them. Occasionally Wendy would go with them, but her heart wasn't in them and more often than not she could be found in the guild, never far from Gajeel and Levy. The two dragon-slayers were adamant in their orders for no one to disturb Natsu until he was ready to come back, Wendy had even gone so far as asking Carla to lure Happy back to the guild, knowing that when he did emerge the last thing he'd want would be for the excitable exceed to be all over him.

From his office on the second floor Makarov watched over his guild, the heavy atmosphere and worried expressions on his children's faces only serving to exacerbate his own concerns. All his parental instincts were urging him to go and see Natsu, to see for himself that the dragon-slayer was alright… or as alright as he could be given the situation. But he trusted that Wendy and Gajeel knew what they were doing when they ordered everyone to leave him be, knowing that the latter had even gone so far as to physically stopping a few of the brasher members that had tried to ignore the injunction to stay away from Natsu. He just hoped that fire mage remembered that he still had a family waiting for him.

FTFT

Two weeks later:

With trembling hands Natsu pulled on his clothes, carefully settling his scarf into its customary place, trying in vain to push back the thought that he no longer had the right to wear Igneel's last gift to him. For a brief second his hands tightened on the material as though to yank it off, but taking a deep breath he forced them away – he had already lost enough, he couldn't….he wouldn't give up this precious link with his father. His draconic side protested at his defiance, and he staggered slightly as he turned and headed for the door, only sheer will power giving him the strength to step outside for the first time since the day he'd gone in season.

He was surprised but relieved to find that there was no-one keeping an eye on his house, even Happy seemed to have finally given up on his wait. It gave him extra time to gather his courage for what he'd no doubt face at the guild. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew his nakama would be worried, he would probably have remained hidden from the world for much longer. Although as his stomach rumbled softly as he slowly made his way down the path, he had to admit that supplies would have become an issue, even with his small appetite nowadays.

As he reached the outskirts of town he had to fight the overwhelming desire to retreat back into his isolated solitude, sinking in on himself as people called out to him with cheerful voices. Still he kept going, keeping his eyes firmly on the ground so as to avoid being caught up in conversation; he wasn't sure if he could handle his nakama, let alone complete strangers who thought they knew him because he was the Salamander.

In his distraction he was startled to find himself outside the guild much quicker than he was anticipating, and he found himself frozen as he stared up at the familiar building. The void in his chest ached as he was overcome with memories of him and Gray, from the time he joined the guild to the morning when he'd gone into season. There were just too many of them and he felt himself beginning to shake, this had been a bad idea, there was no way he was ready for this and what if Gray was there? That thought sent a pang of longing through him and he took an unsteady step forward before staggering back, no, he had no right to approach the ice mage, not now.

FT

"Natsu-san!" The high-pitched cry startled him out of his whirling thoughts, and he had enough time to blink before a blue-haired missile hit him, wrapping her arms around him in a desperate hug. Startled he glanced down in bemusement at Wendy, wondering how he could have missed her approach.

"Wendy," he said softly as he felt her beginning to tremble as she continued to hug him as tightly as she could, and after a moment she pulled back to look up at him. Brown eyes widened at whatever they saw in his face, and he began to pull back realising that she more than anyone would understand his situation now. However, he froze as he saw the tears beginning to form in her eyes and she took advantage of his hesitation to wrap her arms around him once more, clearly not about to let him escape.

"I'll be okay Wendy," he said softly as he stroked the youngest dragon-slayers head, feeling her tears soaking into his clothes as she mourned in a way that he couldn't. Hearing his words she pulled back to glance up at him with tear-filled eyes, and seeing this he forced a smile onto his face. "I promise I'll be okay," he repeated seeing the doubt in her eyes, knowing that she would be able to see through his fake smile but silently begging her to accept his word.

"I know Natsu-san," she said softly seeing the unspoken plea in his deadened eyes, but the fake smile scared her, she knew that he was going to use it stop them seeing how he was truly feelings. And she feared that at some point he would use it to hide something even more serious. "Come the others will be glad to see you," she added as she fiercely wiped away her tears, after all what right did she have to weep when he didn't.

"Let's go see them then," he agreed, gently squeezing the hand she slipped into his in gratitude, knowing that he would never have found the strength to step inside without her. The memories that had overwhelmed him only moments before welled up again as she led him towards the day, and he braced himself as she forced the door open. As though sensing his struggle she paused to glance back at him, an all too knowing look in her eyes, and he sighed as he followed after her.

FTFT

One month later:

Gray stared at the guild door with a sense of impending doom, dreading what he might encounter when he summoned the courage to actually step inside. He knew that it had been a cowardly thing to do, taking off after hurting Natsu so badly, and that knowledge had made him stay away longer than he'd originally planned. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that he needed to pay his rent and pick up another job, he would probably have stayed away for longer. Shaking his head at his own cowardice, he gritted his teeth and forcing himself forward he opened the door with a trembling hand.

Schooling his face to blankness he stepped into the guild, noting how silence instantly spread as the members turned to look at him. Briefly his eyes flickered around, noting the surprise and disappointment and in some cases anger in the faces watching him. Taking a deep breath he stepped forward, heading for the job board with grim determination, now focused on getting out of here as swiftly as possible.

He'd just reached the notice board when the guild door slammed open once more, and a shard of dread pierced him as a familiar voice rang out.

"We're back," to anyone that didn't know Natsu they would have thought that he was genuinely happy, however, even before he'd turned around Gray knew that the happiness was fake. There was a flattened edge to his voice that cut him to the core. Slowly the ice mage turned around, knowing that he had to face the other mage now.

The ice mage had to bite back a shocked gasp as his nervous gaze fell on his friend/rival (if he still had a right to call the dragon slayer such). Despite the smile on his face, Natsu still looked as though he had gone through hell…his skin was pale, and his clothes hung off him showing just how much weight he had lost in the past month and a half. But it was in his eyes that Gray could see the worst change – the olive eyes were dull and they looked old and weary, untouched by that terrible, fake smile that he'd managed to force onto his face.

At that moment the fire mage noticed him, and Gray flinched as olive eyes locked with his. Natsu's smile faltered instantly as he stared at the ice mage, what little colour he had fading as he seemed to shrink in on himself.

"Nat…" Gray trailed off not sure what he could say or if he had the right to speak to the other teen, his gaze drifting to the floor as he saw the suspicious glint of moisture in those pained eyes.

"You're back," Natsu said flatly and Gray looked up again, only to find that the fire mage had averted his gaze off to the side.

"Yeah."

"You didn't have to stay away for so long," Natsu continued and he glanced back up to meet Gray's gaze and there was a slight softening of his face as a small but true smile touched his lips. "Fairy Tail is our home, regardless of what happened." Gray felt his knees weaken at this sign of absolution from the nakama that he knew he'd hurt beyond all belief, but before he could summon any words to try and further mend the bridge between them, Natsu turned and headed back out of the guild.

"Let him be," a low voice growled as he made to follow Natsu, and blinking he found himself staring into Gajeel's angry crimson eyes. The iron dragon-slayer's face was impassive as he stared at the ice mage for a long moment. "You saw the difference in him?" It wasn't really a question but Gray nodded anyway – after there was no way that anyone who knew the fire mage could've missed the changes in the dragon-slayer.

"That was the first time he's smiled properly since you left," Gray blinked as Wendy joined them, seeing the sorrow in the girl's eyes as she stared at the doors that Natsu had just left through. "But I think it's worse than seeing the sorrow."

FTFT

A/N:The guild's reaction to Natsu's return will be in the next chapter as a flashback.

Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Wow I am amazed by the reception you guys have given DS: Rejection – thank you so much for all the reviews, favourites and follows!

Disclaimer: Alas Fairy Tail and its wonderful, loveable characters doesn't belong to me, I am only borrowing them.

FTFT

_The entire guild had fallen silent as Wendy led the clearly hesitant Natsu into the building, no one knowing what to say now that they were faced by the reality of the changes in the fire mage. There was no hiding from his deadened gaze, and the paleness and heavy shadows under his eyes showed just how much he was suffering. But what scared them the most was the strange, fake smile that he had on his face as he allowed the smaller dragon-slayer to pull him over to where the rest of their team were sat with Levy and Gajeel._

"_Salamander," Gajeel greeted quietly, his voice uncharacteristically soft as he noted the tight hold that Wendy had on their fellow dragon-slayer's hand and guessing that it was the only reason he was staying put for now. Dead eyes flickered across to him and there was a flash of pain in the haunted gaze as his eyes strayed down to where his hand was entwined with Levy's._

"_Congratulations, "Natsu managed to force out past the lump that had formed at the sight before he glanced away, and whilst the congratulations were genuine they could all hear the agony and longing in his voice. Wendy tightened her hold on his hand as she felt a shudder go through him, feeling her reaction he glanced down at her and forced himself to relax outwardly at least. With a watery smile she gently led him to a seat beside Erza, sharing a glance with Gajeel as both dragon-slayers marvelled at the strength it must be taking Natsu just to remain in the guild _

"_It's good to see you," Erza said softly as he sat down, her eyes concerned as she noted how he hunched in on himself at her words, although he nodded slightly to indicate he had heard her. Biting her lips she shared a quick glance with Lucy, noting that the Celestial mage seemed close to tears before shooting a heated look at the rest of the guild who were watching the awkward scene in complete silence. Seeing the threat in her look they all quickly busied themselves with other activities, and slowly a low hum of conversation began to build up again and Natsu seemed to relax slightly._

"_Are you hungry?" Happy asked as he moved across to sit next to his partner, his ears drooping slightly as he met the dragon-slayer's gaze and finding no trace of the fire that usually burned in them. Noting the concern in the Exceed's eyes Natsu nodded silently, and the cat brightened instantly before hurrying off to get food from Mira, leaving the dragon-slayer to hope that he'd be able to choke down whatever they gave him. _

_Now that he'd looked up he allowed his gaze to flicker around the guild, carefully avoiding meeting the worried and curious eyes still watching their group, before turning back to his friends with a slight frown._

"_Where's G-Gray?" He asked, flinching as he stuttered over the ice-mage's name, a now familiar flash of pain and shame going through him as his thoughts turned once more to Gray. At once the group seemed to freeze as they all exchanged uneasy glances, and Natsu glanced around worriedly – surely something hadn't happened to Gray since that night? "He's okay right?" He asked unable to keep the concern out of his voice, even though he had no right to be concerned over the ice-mage anymore._

"_He went out a job just after he…" Levy said softly, trailing off unable to voice the fact that Gray had rejected Natsu, knowing that there was no way the dragon-slayer would forget that fact and unwilling to remind him. _

"_I see," Natsu muttered before shifting his gaze back down to the table, it hurt to know that Gray had practically fled the guild to get away from him, but at least nothing untoward had happened to the ice mage. Even in the darkest depths of his sorrow and anger he had never been able to find it in himself to hate the other teen. He hadn't even been able to summon a spark of anger; and in his desperation he had tried, If only so that for a second he could forget the pain._

"_He ran away," Erza ground out angrily, if it wasn't for the efforts of the others she would have gone after the ice mage and dragged him back to the guild to face the mess he'd caused. That urge was nearly overwhelming now that they were faced with the reality of the changes Wendy and Gajeel had been warning them about, and she clenched her fists in an attempt to stop her magic overflowing with her temper._

"_No," everyone gaped at Natsu as his voice rose slightly, mixed emotions flashing across his face as he raised his eyes to look at them. "It isn't his fault!" _

"_But…"_

"_I don't want you to blame him, or be angry at him," Natsu said softly, and everyone apart from the dragon-slayers stared at him in astonishment unable to believe he was forgiving the ice mage so easily. He'd managed to hold grudges against Gray for months before, and that had been for offences much less serious than this one and yet here he was dismissing what Gray had done as if it was nothing. "If…When he comes back, treat him just like normal…please…"_

FT

"He said that?" Gray asked incredulously as he stared at the dragon-slayers in sheer disbelief. After stopping him from following Natsu out of the guild they had dragged him into a quiet corner of the guild to tell him what had been happening with the fire mage since he'd taken off. It didn't help thought that he could feel everyone staring at him, and he had seen the murderous glint in Erza's eyes when she'd spotted him.

"Natsu-san still cares for you," Wendy said softly and he blinked at her, how could Natsu still hold any positive feelings towards him? Not only had he rejected Natsu as a potential mate, but he had rubbed salt into the wound by running off.

"Part of it is because he doesn't have a choice," Gajeel said bluntly seeing the question in the dark eyes and refusing to sugar coat the situation. "Just because you rejected him and his season ended doesn't mean that his attraction, or his instinctive need to protect you has disappeared."

"You're saying that he'd being compelled to forgive me?" Gray demanded, horrified at the thought that Natsu was being forced to forgive him. He'd much rather have the fire mage's hate and anger than something that was forced, especially because Natsu had every right to hate him after all that happened.

"In part," Gajeel said ignoring the slight noise of protest that Wendy made, but then he sighed and his eyes softened slightly. "If he truly hated you he could've fought the pull and not spoken up in your defence. At least some part of him, separate from the dragon was willing to forgive you."

"I think Natsu-san always intended for you to remain friends," Wendy spoke up now, her voice hesitant as she glanced between the pair but gaining confidence as the older dragon-slayer nodded in agreement. "I think that's why he hid away rather than trying to pursue you. If you hadn't gone to see him then the week would have ended with a failed mating, but he wouldn't have had the pain of being outright rejected."

"If I hadn't…" Gray trailed off before his gaze darted towards where Mira was quietly tidying up behind the bar, noting that she seemed more subdued than usual.

"Mira-san blames herself for sending you to see him," Wendy whispered following his gaze. The take-over mage had been nearly inconsolable when she'd realised the role she'd played in Natsu's pain, and the state the dragon-slayer had been in when he returned had reduced her to tears.

"No," Gray said softly shaking his head. "She was only trying to help him," it would be so easy he thought, to blame her, but he had already taken the cowards route once by taking off. He wasn't about to try and hide from this, especially as they were both watching his reactions carefully and he got the sense that had he responded in that manner he would have quickly ended up in a world of pain. "What happened after that?" He asked, not entirely sure that he wanted to know, but also realising that it was better for them to tell him than for him to put his foot in it later.

FT

_The conversation after Natsu's plea had been stilted and confused, with the rest of his team unable to fully understand why he was being so forgiving towards the absent ice mage. It was also clear that it had stirred up his emotions, and no one knew what to say as they saw the growing redness around his eyes. In the end the dragon-slayer had got to his feet, gently shaking off Wendy's hand as she tried to stop him leaving._

"_I'm going home," he said quietly glancing down at her and reaching out to pat her on the head as he saw the concern in her eyes, carefully avoiding everyone else's gazes he headed for the door, slipping out without a farewell._

"_Will he always be like this? Or will it get better?" Lucy after a long moment of silence, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she gazed after her best friend before she turned back to the other dragon-slayers._

"_I don't know," Wendy whispered as she stared at her hands, aware that it was only her hold on him that had made him stay as long as he had._

"_I'm surprised that he came back so soon…I don't think that I would have been able to," Gajeel said his own gaze fixed on Levy as though he was trying to convince himself that she was really there. Seeing the anxiety in his expression and feeling the tension in his hand the solid script mage gently rested her head against his shoulder, and smiled as she felt him nuzzle slightly against her hair. After Gray had taken off he had become very clingy, even after the end of his season and even now he was reluctant to stray too far and she knew it was because he feared what had happened to Natsu._

"_Natsu I brought…where is he?" Happy asked reappearing with an overflowing plate of food, the hopeful expression on his face quickly fading as he realised that the dragon-slayer had gone. _

"_He wanted to go home," Erza explained gently to the Exceed. "He wasn't really ready for the guild yet." The little cat sighed placing the food dejectedly on the table before settling back into his seat, trying not to feel hurt that Natsu hadn't even waited to say goodbye._

"_He'll be back soon Happy," Lucy said softly unable to bear the sadness on his face, and needing to try and convince herself of that fact as well. "After all the guild is his family."_

"_Aye Sir," Happy agreed weakly and managed a weak smile for the Celestial mage, and the sight helped bolster all of their spirits. _

FT

"It has got a little better," Wendy said picking up from Gajeel, knowing that even now he found it hard to talk about what was happening to Natsu as it brought up the fear of Levy abandoning him, even though he and everyone in the guild knew that wasn't going to happen. "It took another couple of weeks, but now he can spend more than half an hour at a time here, but the slightest pressure to talk about what happened makes him run for the hills."

"The job he just came back from was the first one he's taken since then, it took a lot of convincing from the girls to get him to go," Gajeel added and Gray frowned, that more than anything showed how much the situation had affected the dragon-slayer. Natsu loved going on jobs especially with his friends, so the idea that not only had he not gone on one for a month and a half, but that he had needed to be convinced….it left a sour taste in his mouth.

"You should go and talk to him," Wendy spoke up interrupting his whirling thoughts and he turned to stare at her, after their intervention he'd thought that they'd wanted him to stay well away from their fellow dragon-slayer and he couldn't blame them for that. Gajeel tensed at her words but he didn't protest which made Gray realise that she was serious. "He needs to know that you want to remain friends at least," she explained seeing his confusion.

"But.."

"He thinks that you don't even want to remain friends because you took off," she explained fiercely and he blanched, he'd known from the start how cowardly his actions were, but it still hurt to have it put so bluntly. "You need to let him know that's not true, it's the only way he'd going to be able to calm his draconic side. Unless you don't want to be friends?" She asked with a challenging look that was completely out of place on her face, but there was no give in her eyes as she stared at him.

"I…Of course I want us to be friends," he protested at once, and it was true, the thought of losing Natsu as a teammate and friend left a hollow feeling in his stomach. But that was part of the issue, surely that was something he deserved after what he had done.

"Then tell him that! It doesn't matter what you think you deserve or don't deserve," Wendy was adamant and he was surprised at hearing her speak so bluntly, especially as she was expressing exactly what he was feeling. "It's about what Natsu needs, and what you owe him."

"Alright," Gray caved, not that he had wanted to protest further, and after all she was only telling him to do something that he wanted to do. Seeing the expectant look in her eyes he got to his feet and with a silent wave he headed for the door, carefully avoiding looking at the table where the rest of their team was sat, although he distantly heard the creaking of metal and knew that Erza was struggling not to come after him and he sighed with relief when he made it outside without incident.

FT

The walk to Natsu's house had been harder than he thought, memories of his last trip out here had dogged his steps, as had the fear that maybe he was just going to make things worse. Several times he'd nearly turned back, it was only Wendy's last words to him, and the fact that Natsu had told the entire guild not to blame him that kept him moving forward. But it was the fact that the dragon-slayer had actually welcomed him home that gave him the strength to knock on the door when he reached it.

"Natsu," Gray called as he stared up at the house, wondering if the dragon slayer was even home, or whether he was just ignoring the ice mage. "Natsu, please if you are there I just need…want to speak to you." He knew that he really had no right to ask anything from Natsu, and even after what the others had said he wasn't expecting his pleading to get him anywhere. Therefore he was stunned a moment later when the door slowly creaked opened, his eyes widening as he met Natsu's gaze as the dragon-slayer hesitated in the shadow of the hallway.

"Why are you here Gray?" Natsu asked when it was clear that Gray was too startled or distracted to say anything, and growing uncomfortable under the intense gaze fixed on him. He was struggling to keep his face impassive, and it didn't help that he could see the guilt and concern in the ice mage's face, whilst his scent was making his inner dragon howl in anguish.

"I…" Gray hesitated unsure of what it was that he wanted or needed to say. The prospect of talking to Natsu had seemed so much simpler when he was back at the guild, but now standing in front of the other teen, with the stark evidence of the damage his decision had caused starting him in the face it was impossible to formulate the words he wanted to say.

"You should go, I'm not very good company at the moment," Natsu said softly his voice beginning to waver, and Gray could see the torment written in the olive eyes and he had to blink back tears as his own eyes began to sting.

"I'm sorry," Gray blurted out, knowing that it couldn't fix the situation, but needing the other teen to hear the words. Natsu stiffened and the impassive mask he'd been clinging disappeared to be replaced by an expression of pain, one hand instinctively rising to clutch at his chest as his draconic side went into a frenzy. It was impossible to ignore the pain in the ice mage's eyes or the desperation in his apology, and Natsu wanted to cry at the knowledge that even now he was causing his chosen one pain.

"It's fine," Natsu whispered finally when he was sure that he had the dragon contained at least for now, the last thing he wanted was for Gray to see him in total meltdown. Slowly he raised his eyes and with great difficulty met Gray's gaze head on. "You have nothing to apologize for Gray, I never expected you to feel the same way." Hoped? Oh yes he had hoped and prayed to whatever Gods there were that somewhere inside the ice mage would harbour similar feelings, but his rational side had always known that it was a lost cause, that just like their elements there was too much distance between them.

"But I hurt you!" Gray said, still unable to believe how easily the other was trying to absolve him of any crime even when he was hearing the words from Natsu's own lips. "And…and then I ran away leaving you to deal with everything."

"It doesn't matter," Natsu repeated stubbornly even as he staggered under a fresh assault from his dragon, flinching back as Gray automatically reached out to steady him. At once the ice mage snatched his hand back, a look of self-loathing flickering across his face at seeing the reaction he'd received and the dragon-slayer wanted to howl at seeing such an expression. "Please Gray," he whimpered out his own eyes filling with tears. "I don't blame you for this, I never have and I never will."

"But…"

"If I hadn't been a dragon-slayer this would have been nothing but a crush. Or maybe not even that. All of this is because of a screwed up bit of Draconic magic," Natsu said fiercely, and Gray was startled to hear the loathing that was directed towards Natsu's magic, the other teen had never once been anything but proud of his unusual magic and to hear the change was more unnerving than anything else he'd seen or heard since returning. "We are nakama Gray, teammates and rivals. I didn't want that to change and that's why I stayed away, I wanted to at least hold onto that."

"That's…that's what I want too," Gray whispered and the Dragon-slayer's expression softened slightly although the pain remained, and slowly he reached out with a trembling hand to brush against Gray's Guild mark. The ice mage held his breath at the tentative touch, absently noting that he'd stripped at some point, but unable to look away from the olive eyes that were fixed on him.

"Then stop apologising," Natsu ordered softly. "I won't always be able to be around you, but I want us to stay the way we were as much as possible. So please," his tone turned pleading at the end as he slowly pulled his arm back, desperately fighting to hold back the tears that were still threatening to fall.

"A-alright," Gray agreed softly, seeing the pain and raw desperation in the other's face and realising that it would only be selfish to push this out any longer. He might not think that he deserved what Natsu was offering, and he was fairly certain that their friends agreed with him on this, but he had no right to hurt the other because of his own guilt. "Nakama," he added and Natsu relaxed slightly, slumping against the door frame for a second as the turmoil in his chest lessened slightly.

"Nakama," he echoed wearily.

"Will you come back to the guild? The others were worried," Gray asked quietly, sensing the need to move onto a slightly safer topic as the other teen looked utterly wrung out.

"Not now," Natsu shook his head and tried not to look at the disappointed expression on the ice mage's face, knowing that he needed some time alone to try and soothe his inner dragon, otherwise they would all be witness to his meltdown and that wasn't something he wanted them to witness. "I'll come tomorrow," he added hoping to cheer up the ice mage and relieve some of the worry in the onyx eyes.

"Okay," Gray said sadly, realising that Natsu wanted or needed to be alone for now. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah," Natsu said softly, and the ice mage turned quietly and began to head back towards the town. It took all of the dragon-slayer's strength to resist the instinctual desire to stop him leaving, the crushing knowledge that he didn't deserve to do so hitting him once more as he watched the other leave and with trembling movements he quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind him, throwing the bolt across as an extra measure.

FT

He leant against the door for a moment, his sharp ears tracking the sound of Gray slowly walking away from the house, a pang going through him as he detected the heaviness in the ice-mage's tread.

"Gray," he whispered softly, his breath hitching as the increasingly familiar pain shot through him and he slumped limply to the ground as the tears he'd been holding back tracked their way freely down his face. Sobbing he rocked himself slightly as he tried to convince himself that the fact they were able to stay as nakama despite the fact his plan had gone to hell was enough for him to survive on.

Unfortunately in the silence of his home, with his inner dragon railing against him for his failure it was a lot harder to believe in than it had been when Gray had been in front of him.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the long wait folks! A couple of manic weeks followed by being ill the second I actually get time off , but I'm back up and running so stay tuned.

Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favourites!

Disclaimer: As always I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters, I'm just borrowing them.

FTFT

Four Weeks Later:

Natsu staggered wearily back towards the dingy inn that he was currently staying at, wincing as his battered body protested the movement. What should have been a relatively simple job of retrieving some stolen items from a group of bandits had turned out to be anything but, for one, there had been nearly twice as many bandits as the job request had stated. And secondly his magic had been acting peculiarly, sometimes lashing out with double the strength he intended and other times barely responding when he tried to attack… hence his current condition.

Ignoring the curious looks that came his way as he entered, he quickly made his way across the bar area and up the steps to the tiny room that was his current home. Shutting the door firmly behind him he quickly flopped onto the bed, closing his eyes as the room span for a moment as the movement jolted his body. He knew that he should take care of his injuries, especially as a couple were deep enough to need bandaging but he couldn't summon the energy or the desire to take care of himself.

Originally he had come on this job to try and settle his inner dragon, three jobs in a row with the rest of his team had meant almost three weeks constantly in Gray's company. To be so close to his chosen had been both a blessing and a curse, and he'd hoped that some time away would settle the constant whirlwind of emotions in his chest. Instead he found himself longing for Gray more than ever. With a sigh that was more of a sob he rolled onto his front and buried his face into his pillow, feeling the all too familiar burn of tears in his eyes.

FTFT

Natsu groaned as he slowly woke up, realising that he must have dozed off at some point. He frowned as a wave of nausea hit him, dizzily he sat up noting as he did that the space where he'd been lying was damp with blood and sweat. His nose wrinkled at the smell, and as he raised an uncoordinated hand to rub at it he felt the extreme heat coming off his skin, eyes widening in concern. He never felt hot, but even he could tell that the heat he was letting off was more than his magic produced.

Weakly he forced himself to his feet, swaying so much that he had to reach out to grab the bed post to steady himself. He knew that his injuries weren't enough to cause this even if he had lost more blood than he should have by not tending his wounds at once, and he groaned at the thought of being ill – there was nothing he hated more, although at least there was no one here to fuss unnecessarily over him.

Ignoring the way the room was spinning around him he slowly made his way to the tiny bathroom in the corner of the room, blanching as he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the window. His face had lost what little colour he'd managed to recover since his Season and there were dark bags beneath his eyes, so dark in fact it looked like he'd been punched and there was a sickly flush to his cheeks. Turning away he fumbled in the cabinet for the few medical supplies he'd bothered to bring, after all he hadn't expected it to be much of a fight.

With uncoordinated hands he pulled off his tattered clothes, dumping them unceremoniously on the floor as he turned his attention back to his reflection with a wince. His entire torso was a map of bruises and cuts, and he ground his teeth – there was no way he should have had this amount of trouble with some bandits. _But you were not strong enough to claim your mate? Why would you be strong enough to handle bandits?_ His inner dragon asked, its insidious whisper echoing through him and he clenched his fists tightly as he snarled at his reflection, unable to find the words to argue back.

Slowly he began to clean the worse of the cuts wincing as the dried blood pulled against the wounds, knowing that he was looking Erza wasn't around as she would have brained him for leaving them in this state for so long. Carefully avoiding his reflection he bandaged them as soon as they were clean, biting back a whimper as he had to twist to reach some of them, pain spiking through him at his efforts and by the time he was finished he was breathing heavily.

Scooping up a mouthful of water he quenched his thirst as he pondered going downstairs to fetch food, his stomach rolled at the thought and he sighed with resignation as he turned and headed back to the bed. It took more effort than it should these days to get food, and he knew that it was showing, but even when his friend's harassed him about it he couldn't do much against his non-existent appetite. Silently promising them that he would eat something after he'd slept for a bit more he slipped back into the covers with a grimace – really they needed changing but that would require effort and at the moment all he wanted was to sleep. Curling up he buried his head into the pillow and let his eyes drift shut, desperately tuning out the continued taunts from his draconic side as he fell into a restless sleep.

FTFT

Two Days Later:

"Where's the Salamander?" Everyone's heads swivelled around as the gruff voice rang out over the guild hall, eyes widening as they took in the sight of Gajeel leaning heavily on Levy an expression of deep concern on both their faces as they searched the guild hall for the familiar head of pink hair.

"He's away on a job," Lucy was the first to respond, glancing briefly at Gray who sighed and glanced away. They had come back from a team job a couple of days ago and Natsu had promptly taken off on a solo job, it had become a familiar pattern even though none of them liked it. Gajeel growled at the response and as they watched his left arm seemed to twist into the start of his sword form before Levy's hand swiftly clamped down on it, and after a brief moment the shift reversed and he let out a sigh of relief.

"You need to go after him," the iron dragon-slayer once his arm had settled, crimson eyes fixing on Gray who looked startled at the sudden command. After all they spent most of the time making sure that he was giving Natsu the space he needed, so he was suspicious of the sudden change and the concern in both their faces.

"Why?" He asked at last, finally finding his voice.

"Gajeel has come down with Dragon Fever," Levy spoke up feeling Gajeel shaking next to her as his magic strained against hers trying to escape the tight hold she was keeping on it and him. "It affects the magic of mature dragons and dragon-slayers."

"Natsu-san," Wendy whispered in alarm as faint memories of Grandine teaching her about the various maladies that affected Dragons and Dragon-slayers came back to her, frantically she met Gajeel's gaze and he nodded grimly as he saw the realisation in her expressive eyes. "A mated Dragon or Dragon-slayer needs their mate's magic to help keep there's in control during Dragon Fever, otherwise it can run out of control destroying the one whose ill. We know you're not mated, but your magic might be able to help him," she explained whirling to look at Gray with something akin to desperation in her eyes. It wasn't fair that Natsu was going to have to rely on the one who'd hurt him to survive this, especially when there was no guarantee that the bond that remained between the two would be strong enough to help him.

"And if my magic doesn't work?" Gray demanded seeing the doubt in her eyes. There was no way he wouldn't try, he was always aware of the debt he owed Natsu even if the Dragon-slayer insisted that there wasn't a debt between them, but he needed to know just what he was getting into.

"I don't know," Wendy admitted reluctantly before gazing at Gajeel hoping that he might have more information than she did.

"I'm not sure," he said hesitantly glancing down at Levy. "Failed matings are fairly rare, and I only know what Metallicana told me which isn't a lot." Gray tried to hide the flinch that went through him at the mention of failed matings, before frowning in concern, he didn't like the idea that everything was riding on something that had a good chance of failing but it didn't seem as there was much choice.

"Mira which job did Natsu take?" He called getting to his feet and glancing across to the take-over mage, wishing that he'd paid more attention when the flame brain had taken off, but he'd wanted to give Natsu some space.

"It was the bandit job out near Oak Town," she said with a frown glancing towards her pile of accepted jobs, the request itself had been rather sparse on details and she'd tried to convince Natsu to at least take Happy with him but the fire mage had been adamant about going on his own. Gray bit back a curse, it was going to take at least a day to get there and that was if he got lucky with the trains.

"Should we come as well?" Lucy asked glancing at him with worried eyes, and he could see Erza watching him intently and wondered what she was thinking as for once there was no simmering anger in her gaze.

"No, Natsu doesn't like lots of fuss when he's ill," the re-quip mage said at last and her gaze softened slightly as Gray turned to look at her in surprise, he'd fully expected her to insist on coming to supervise. Of all of them she had taken the longest to soften in her attitude to him, and he knew it was only Natsu's continual appeals on his behalf that had soothed her temper. "It'll be hard enough for him to accept Gray's help without the rest of us fussing around him."

"Is there anything else I need to know about Dragon Fever?" He asked at last turning back to glance at the two dragon-slayers.

"You'll have to use your magic to drive his back into his body, the longer he's alone the worse it'll be and it will fight you," Gajeel said with a wince as more metal flickered into life along his arm, and at once Levy moved her hand to press against it, her mouth set in a grim line as she used her own magic to quell his.

"You can't hesitate or hold back," she added grimly never taking her eyes of the flickering metal and Gray nodded even though she wasn't looking. He could see the faint lines of exhaustion on her face, and the way she was having to grit her teeth as she fought Gajeel's magic and it gave him a good idea of just how much magic this was going to take…and he just hoped that his was strong enough to do the job.

Feeling a soft touch on his leg he glanced down to find Happy clinging to his trousers, tears in his expressive eyes as he stared desperately up at the ice mage. Unable to stand the expression on the Exceed's face he carefully knelt and rested his hands on the cat's shoulders, meeting his gaze with quiet confidence as he pushed his own doubts down and out of sight.

"He'll be alright Happy, I'll make sure of it," he said softly and the cat sniffled before nodding as he heard the promise in Gray's voice.

"Bring him home," Erza said softly and he shot her a startled look before nodding seeing the acceptance in her eyes, maybe this would be the turning point in their relationship. He certainly hoped so, and he knew it would help relieve some of the pressure on Natsu if they were able to get along better.

"I will," he said simply, patting the Exceed on the head before getting to his feet and heading for the door. As he passed by the pair in the doorway he felt a gentle touch on his arm, and looking up he met Levy's warm gaze with surprise.

"You can do it," she said softly, shooting him a small smile which he returned hesitantly. Of all of them she had been the most understanding of the situation he'd found himself in, and even before Natsu had insisted on everyone treating him normally she had promised herself not to treat him differently. With a last squeeze she let him go and without hesitation he took off at a run, this time he wasn't going to screw up.

FTFT

Natsu whimpered as he twisted restlessly on the narrow bed. The heat had been growing over the last couple of days, and nothing he did seemed to help in the slightest and he'd run out of medicine the night before. Logically he knew that he should go and find a doctor or some more medicine, or ask someone to get one for him, but he couldn't find the energy or motivation to leave his room. He'd already paid for the room for a couple of weeks so no-one was going to be hounding him for rent, and he'd kept to himself since arriving so no-one was going to seek him out for company.

Dazed olive eyes blinked open and he stared up at the ceiling for a moment, feeling nauseous as his magic swirled uneasily in his chest. Flames flickered into life against his fingers and he turned to glance at them with a confused frown, he was fairly sure that he hadn't meant to summon the flames. Narrowing his eyes he tried to banish the flames and almost perversely they seemed to spring higher, and he realised with a wave of fear that he wasn't controlling the fire.

"Go away," he whispered hoarsely staring at the fire, hearing his inner dragon mocking his efforts as he tried to regain control of his magic. "Ple…" His pleading trailed off as the nausea rose and at once he stumbled from the bed, staggering unsteadily into the bathroom and dropping down beside the toilet with a broken sob. He had a brief second to realise that the flames had vanished again and then he was retching violently, sobs and shivers rattling his body as he curled helplessly around the toilet.

FTFT

Gray glanced anxiously at the clock before returning his gaze to the passing countryside with a sigh. Luck had not been on his side and his first train had been delayed by a malfunction and now he was definitely going to miss his next train, which meant he was going to be stuck until morning. Scowling he clenched his fists, hoping that Natsu had somehow managed to escape the Dragon Fever – after all he hadn't spent that much time around Gajeel and Levy recently so it was possible…He knew that he was being overly optimistic, luck never seemed to run their way and the thought of Natsu suffering on his was haunting him the longer the train ride took.

FTFT

Somehow Natsu had managed to make it back to the bed, but the effort had drained what little strength he had and now he was lying sprawled limply on the bed; his head drooping over the side from where he'd been unable to make it back to the bathroom. He was faintly aware of the smell of vomit, but he couldn't even summon the effort to shift away. The heat flooding his body had reached unmanageable levels and it felt like he was slowly being consumed by his own fire.

"Gray," he whispered weakly as he stared through slitted eyes at the wall, his mind filling with memories and images of the ice mage and he found himself reaching out as though he could touch the other. Fresh tears trickled down his cheeks as he grasped thin air, and he willingly allowed his eyes to drift shut, desperate for even a short reprieve from the pain.

FTFT

The Next day:

Gray muttered a curse as he burst off the train, ignoring the protests as he shoved his way through the crowd. His bad luck with the trains had held on and he'd missed all but one of his planned connections, and now it was approaching mid-afternoon when at the latest he'd hoped to arrive was morning. Muttering expletives to himself he finally found himself outside the station, his eyes instinctively shooting to the magnificent building that had once housed Phantom Lord – it was hard to believe how long ago the two guilds had fought. Shaking his head he pulled himself back to the present, wondering just how he was going to track down Natsu when there was going to be at least a dozen places he could be staying.

With a sigh he buried his hands in his pocket and set off up the main street, eyes constantly scanning for the familiar head of pink even as he sought out every possible place that the dragon-slayer could be staying. Usually the dragon-slayer would go for somewhere central to stay, but the whole point of this trip had been for Natsu to get away from everything so it was likely he would have found somewhere out of the way.

FT

After several hours of fruitless searching he finally got lucky when he stumbled across the trial of some of the bandits that Natsu had gone off to catch. He'd nearly bypassed the crowd gathered outside the courtrooms, but thankfully he'd overheard people discussing who was on trial and the moment he'd heard bandits he'd joined the crowd. It had taken a lot of pushing and shoving to get through to the front, and thankfully he was able to quickly snag an official looking man and pull him to one side despite his protests.

"I'm looking for the mage that helped catch the bandits," he explained shortly, not bothering with any pleasantries as his concern for Natsu was growing the longer it took to find the hot-headed mage.

"What do you want with him?" The old man asked suspiciously, and with a roll of his eyes Gray lifted up his shirt to reveal his Fairy Tail mark, ignoring the outburst of excited chatter at his actions.

"I'm from the same guild."

"I believe he said he was staying on the outskirts of town," the old man said eventually after examining the mark closely, and seeing the worried gleam in the onyx eyes. "There's an inn on the road coming in from the direction of Clover, it's not the nicest of places but it's the only one out of town."

"Which way?" Gray asked urgently, not likely the thought of Natsu staying somewhere described as 'not the nicest of places' especially if he was unwell. The man pointed up one of the side roads, and with a muttered thanks the ice mage took off, ignoring the protests as he roughly shoved his way back through the crowd. Breaking through of the heaving crowd he took off at a run, ignoring the odd looks that were sent his way.

FT

His heart sank at the sight of the inn, even from the outside it looked dingy and run-down and he wondered what on earth had possessed Natsu to choose such a place. Even if he had been planning on staying for a few weeks, after the last few jobs he would've had more than enough to stay at somewhere nicer. Shaking his head he headed for the door, silently hoping that the inside of the inn was going to be in better than the outside indicated – if not he was determined to get the flame brain to a better inn.

Cautiously he opened the inn door and stepped inside, his nose wrinkling as it was assaulted by the smell of beer and stale sweat. Schooling his expression into blankness he closed the door behind him, glancing around at the dark room filled with miss-matched furniture and a few men in various stages of drunkenness.

"Do you have a pink-haired mage staying here?" He asked stepping across to the more and glancing at the bulky figure of the bar-tender, onyx eyes narrowing as the man staggered slightly as he turned to glance at the ice mage, growing more and more determined to get Natsu and find somewhere else to stay.

"Oh the pretty-faced fire mage?" The man slurred and Gray bit back a growl, seriously Natsu had to have been out of his mind to choose this inn. He resolutely squashed the voice in the back of his mind that suggested this might be another way for the dragon-slayer to punish himself over his perceived failure, shying away from the guilt that thought produced. Refocusing on the man he nodded silently not willing to engage in unnecessary conversation. "He's up in the end room, just turn left at the top of the stairs."

Without a word Gray turned and headed for the stairs, frowning at how easily the bar-tender had given up the information, it was a good thing he was out to get the dragon-slayer. Quickly he made his way upstairs and turned left, eyeing the end door with more than a bit of trepidation, unsure of what he would find or what his reception would be. After all Natsu had taken off to get away from him, and yet here he was chasing him down. Reaching the door he knocked softly, tilting his head as he listened hopefully for a response, still hoping against hope that the fire mage had somehow escaped coming down with dragon-fever.

After a moment he knocked again, his frown deepening with concern when there was still no answer and summoning his courage he reached out and tried the handle. It opened easily and he tried not to think about what could have happened if someone had tried to come after Natsu, as he quietly pushed the door open.

"Natsu?!" He called warily, not wanting to end up on the wrong end of a flaming fist if he'd just caught the other having a nap. But there was still no response and he stepped into the darkened room, gagging as the smell of vomit, sweat and singed wood hit him along with a wave of hot air. However, what alarmed him more was the sense of malicious magic lingering in the air and his hopes fell flat as his eyes finally fell on the limp form sprawled on the tiny bed. "Natsu," he whispered, horror and fear filling his voice as he stared wide-eyed at his nakama.

FTFT

A/N: I was originally going to skip Dragon Fever in this one, but someone asked about it and inspiration struck.

I'll try and update sooner this time, but next week is going to be manic at work so I can't make any promises. Anyone waiting for updates on the other stories, they should mainly be up tonight or tomorrow.


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